Older and younger job seekers’ attention towards metastereotypes in job ads

Aylin Koçak, Nicolas Dirix, Wouter Duyck, Maaike Schellaert and Eva Derous

PLOS ONE, 2024, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: Building on social identity theory and cognitive models on information processing, the present paper considered whether and how stereotyped information in job ads impairs older/younger job seekers’ job attraction. Two eye-tracking experiments with older (Study 1) and younger job seekers (Study 2) investigated effects of negatively metastereotyped personality requirements (i.e., traits) on job attraction and whether attention to and memory for negative information mediated these effects. Within-participants analyses showed for both older and younger job seekers that job attraction was lower when ads included negative metastereotypes and that more attention was allocated towards these negative metastereotypes. Older, but not younger job seekers, also better recalled these negative metastereotypes compared to not negative metastereotypes. The effect of metastereotypes on job attraction was not mediated by attention or recall of information. Organizations should therefore avoid negative metastereotypes in job ads that may capture older/younger job seekers’ attention and lower job attraction.

Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0312323

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312323

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